State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Connecticut > Title17a > Chap319 > Sec17a-10Sec. 17a-10. (Formerly Sec. 17-418). Custody of committed children. Support and health services. Extension or termination of commitment. (a) Any child committed to the department by the Superior Court shall be deemed to be within the custody of the commissioner until such commitment has been terminated.
(b) The commissioner shall pay for the support and maintenance of any delinquent child who is in residence in any of the department's institutions or facilities or in transit from one institution or facility to another. The commissioner, in the commissioner's sole discretion, may, if the commissioner has sufficient funds, pay for the support and maintenance of any other child or youth who is in the custody of the commissioner. If a child is in the custody of the commissioner and is also committed to the Commissioner of Social Services, the Commissioner of Social Services shall pay for such child's support and maintenance when such child is living elsewhere than in an institution or facility of the Department of Children and Families, unless there is other provision for such child's support. Nothing in this section shall exempt any person from liability of support of children or youths under the supervision of the commissioner, when otherwise provided by law.
(c) When deemed in the best interests of a child in the custody of the commissioner, the commissioner, his designee, a superintendent or assistant superintendent or, when the child is in transit between department facilities, a designee of the commissioner, may authorize, on the advice of a physician licensed to practice in the state, medical treatment, including surgery, to insure the continued good health or life of the child. Any of said persons may, when he deems it in the best interests of the child, authorize, on the advice of a dentist licensed to practice in the state, dentistry, including dental surgery, to insure the continued good health of the child. Upon such authorization, the commissioner shall exercise due diligence to inform the parents or guardian prior to taking such action, and in all cases shall send notice to the parents or guardian by letter to their last-known address informing them of the actions taken, of their necessity and of the outcome, but in a case where the commissioner fails to notify, such failure will not affect the validity of the authorization.
(d) If the Superior Court requests a report on any committed child, the commissioner shall be responsible for preparing and transmitting such report to the requesting court. Not more than sixty days nor less than thirty days prior to the expiration of the original commitment of any child to the department, the commissioner may file a motion for an extension of commitment pursuant to the provisions of section 46b-141. If the commissioner, or the board of review pursuant to the provisions of section 17a-15, at any time during the commitment of any child, determines that termination of commitment of a child is in the best interest of such child, the commissioner or the board may terminate the commitment and such termination shall be effective without further action by the court.
(1969, P.A. 664, S. 11; 1971, P.A. 295, S. 1; P.A. 75-420, S. 4, 6; P.A. 75-524, S. 7, 30; P.A. 76-436, S. 593, 681; P.A. 77-614, S. 521, 610; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-262, S. 1, 87; P.A. 01-142, S. 10; P.A. 06-196, S. 107.)
History: 1971 act made previous provisions Subsecs. (a) and (d) and inserted new Subsecs. (b) and (c) re payments for support and maintenance and re health supervision; P.A. 75-420 replaced welfare commissioner with commissioner of social services; P.A. 75-524 specified payments in Subsec. (b) to pertain to "delinquent" child, allowed payments if funds sufficient for other children "or youth" in commissioner's custody and specified that provisions do not exempt liable persons from their responsibility; P.A. 76-436 replaced juvenile court with superior court, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-614 replaced commissioner of social services with commissioner of human resources, effective January 1, 1979; Sec. 17-418 transferred to Sec. 17a-10 in 1991; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-262 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of social services for commissioner and department of human resources, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 01-142 amended Subsec. (d) by changing "petition the court" to "file a motion"; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective June 7, 2006.
See Sec. 18-87 re transfer of correctional institution inmate to custody of Department of Children and Families.
Annotation to former section 17-418:
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 171 C. 644.
Annotations to present section:
Cited. 40 CA 366.
Subsec. (d):
Time constraints are mandatory. 62 CA 681.
